Early Achaemenid Empire

Cyrus II, commonly known as Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire and ruler of Persia from approximately 559 to 530 BCE.

Queen of the Massagetae, known primarily from Herodotus’s account of the war with Cyrus II around 530 BCE.

The broad Central Asian steppe associated with the Massagetae and other Saka groups.

The major Babylonian city and an important center of Cyrus II’s empire, depicted in the film as the setting for the diplomatic deception preceding the campaign.